"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 01/30/2008
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At the free-throw line, Keaton Grant takes a moment and looks at the tattoo on his arm.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
He says the verse, Philippians 4:13, to himself and shoots.
Swoosh.
The Big Ten's best free throw shooter has made a routine out of the sequence. It's working for the sophomore guard, who has yet to miss a free throw in league play, connecting on 26 straight.
Grant got the tattoo about a month and a half ago to remind him of the verse, which his mom has taught him since he was young.
"She brought me up in the church," Grant said. "I have been taught that verse ever since I was little, since I was like six years old. That's what I think about; when I am in trouble that's who I need to talk to."
Grant's mother, Celia, traveled from his hometown of Kissimmee, Fla., to West Lafayette to watch Purdue play No. 11 Wisconsin last Saturday and is staying to watch her son and his teammates play Iowa tonight.
The interstate travel was probably worth it, as Grant has been putting on quite a show.
Last week he was named the Big Ten's player of the week after back-to-back 22 point games. He's leading the Boilers in scoring this season, at 11.4 points per game.
Grant's shooting over 46 percent from behind the 3-point line and 87.2 percent from the free-throw line this season.
While Grant's mother has plenty to be proud of in her son's play, Grant says she isn't proud of the tattoo she inspired, nor his others.
"She isn't too proud of my tattoos," he said before practice Tuesday. "She knows I have them, but she doesn't like the fact that I have so many."
Other than the left bicep tattoo, Grant says he has seven other tattoos.
He isn't the only Boiler with a tattoo that holds personal meaning. Junior forward Chris Reid sports a large cross on his right calf. Like Grant, his tattoo has a religious meaning to him.
"I'm a Greek Orthodox Christian, and my family takes it pretty seriously. So (the tattoo is) a Greek Orthodox cross," Reid said. "When I was 18, I was actually in my English class and wasn't really paying attention. It was my senior year and I just drew it up; it was a doodle and I thought it looked pretty cool."